a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to a solar-initiated wind power generation system that relies upon, captures and guides solar initiated upwardly flowing wind, utilizing a venturi effect, into a turbine power generator. This creates direct electric current that may be used as such, but the direct current is typically converted into alternating current with an appropriate inverter. Controllers and other ancillary solar and wind power components may be included, such as battery storage and/or back up diesel generators. However, an essential aspect of the invention is the use of a canopy through which the sunlight passes to heat surfaces below it and to then carry the upwardly flowing heated air to its apex and to the turbine to generate the power.
b. Description of Related Art
The following patents are representative of the field pertaining to the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,285 B2 and No. 6,703,720 B1 to Ferraro both describe a wind powered generating device which comprises a tube cluster, a collector assembly, and a turbine assembly. The collector assemblies utilize sails that can be rotated to direct wind down through an inlet tube to a central outlet tube. The central outlet tube is narrowed at a portion, and a turbine is mounted at this narrowed portion to take advantage of the Venturi effect that accelerates the air as it passes the turbine. This permits reliable and efficient operation in areas that were not formerly considered windy enough to be economically feasible for the deployment of wind powered generating devices. Alternative embodiments of the inventions include mechanisms for dealing with violent weather conditions, a first of which allows excess wind to bleed off beneath and between the sails, and a second which collapses and covers the sail with a protective sheath/sock.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,021 to Senanayake describes a power production plant and method. The power production plant includes a chimney, a conduit in the chimney, the conduit having an inlet and an outlet, and a solar energy collector having an outlet connected to the chimney characterizing by the solar collector output being connected to the inlet of the conduit, by a rotor in the said outlet, and by the conduit being offset from the central axis of the chimney. The provision of a conduit in the chimney allows the plant to be constructed in stages, and to permit power output before full completion of the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,268 to Senanayake describes a solar chimney assembly including a chimney for receiving fluid from a solar heat collector, and a turbine driven by the fluid. The solar heat collector, which increases the moisture content and the temperature of the air flowing past the turbine, has an evaporative area and a non-evaporative area. The non-evaporative area acts as a heat absorbing area and has a first cover which inhibits evaporation of a heat-absorbing liquid retained therein. The evaporative area has a second cover connected to the chimney and arranged to contain vapor evaporating from a liquid in the evaporative area. The assembly is constructed to a transfer thermal energy from the liquid of the non-evaporative area to liquid of the evaporative area, for high efficiency operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,877 to Lockwood et al. decribes a cover for withstanding stormy weather and increasingly solar heating of a body of water that is disposed over the surface of the water. The cover is more transparent to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation, and is anchored and sealed around its periphery aver the surface of the body of water. Means are provided for reducing the pressure between the bottom of the cover and the top of the water to subatmospheric, and for flooding the top surface of the cover with a layer of water, and draining the layer of water from the top of the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,693 to Cooley describes a concentic dome energy generating building enclosure it makes possible the passive transfer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun into mechanical and/or electrical energy. This invention provides the means for moving thermal and/or pneumatic pressure differentials created by the action of ambient energy on the dome through a conduit between concentric dome walls and directing these air pressure differentials through turbine at the apex of the dome building enclosure causing the turbine to rotate thereby generating power which can be used to operate tools and equipment inside the building enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,774 to Snook describes a canopy extends over a canyon to provide air channel with a lower entrance inlet and an upper discharge outlet. Sunlight passes through the canopy to effect heating of the air in the channel and airflow toward the upper outlet. A wind turbine may be driven by the discharging airflow.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.